Canada took fewer refugees last year, despite pledge to increase numbers

OTTAWA – Refugee groups are accusing the Conservatives of backtracking on a pledge to increase the number of refugees resettled to Canada.

Statistics show that the number of refugees resettled in Canada in 2012 is down 26 per cent, despite repeated claims by the government that they were boosting rates by 20 per cent.

The figures also show the government didn’t meet its own target for the number of refugees it planned to accept.

Some of the decline is due to the closure of visa offices in Syria amid ongoing unrest there; the offices used to process thousands of applications from the broader Middle East region.

The Conservatives have made substantial reforms to the refugee system in the last few years which they describe as efforts to weed out fake refugee claims.

But a notice posted on the Citizenship and Immigration website has revealed flaws in at least one element of legislation that will require a rewrite.